“I’m not going to lie to you.” She was able to bring aboard a handful of black investors, including Earl W. Putting up $2.7 million of her own money first, Johnson then embarked on an aggressive campaign to recruit other prominent African-American investors. Q&A: Lee Daniels Reveals Details of His Drug-Fueled Days Managing Wes Bentley and Michael Shannon “In Hollywood, no one wants to step up to the plate to support African-American films.” I called them and said, ‘This movie has to be made,'” says Johnson, who quickly arranged a meeting with Daniels and signed on as an executive producer. Johnson, who has financed four socially-minded documentaries, was immediately intrigued by The Butler and went home with Danny Strong‘s adapted script tucked away in her bag. ![]() She also is CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, a management company based in Middleburg, Va., that owns a string of luxury properties. Johnson, who grew the BET network into a multibillion-dollar company with her former husband, Robert Johnson, before selling it to Viacom, is now vice chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, making her the first African-American female to have an ownership stake in three pro sports teams, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, of which she is president and general manager. The saga began in early 2011, when the late producer Laura Ziskin and her partner Pam Williams approached Sheila Johnson about helping to finance a movie based on the true story of Eugene Allen, a black butler who worked at the White House for eight presidents and had a unique view of the civil rights movement. PHOTOS: ‘The Butler’ Premiere: Oprah, Forest Whitaker and Anna Wintour Walk the Red Carpet Finding the $30 million budget meant uniting a disparate group, including one of America’s top African-American female entrepreneurs, a former NBA star, a Ukrainian-born billionaire and an aspiring young film producer from one of New Orleans’ wealthiest families. 16 (as a way of comparison, indie Oscar winner The King’s Speech had 16). ![]() ![]() A complex arrangement has led to 41 producers and executive producers credited on the historical drama, which opens Aug. No independent film is easy to get off the ground, but Lee Daniels’ The Butler stands apart.
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